And as we suspected, the feelings have changed. Of course, we miss Roo. I think we always will. But the overwhelming urge to breakdown and sob has finally subsided. I think the re-arrangement of the whole apartment helped, as I was seeing her ghost everywhere: at the food bowl, on my pillow, etc etc etc. Now we can look at the pictures of her all over the fridge and smile while we get a little teary.
Kiki seems to be adjusting to her life as the only cat. We have discussed getting another, but it's hard to know what is the best thing. Kiki is fifteen. She has been with other non-sister cats before, but I can't say she ever really liked them. I mean, maybe the cat roommates in college cause they were all young at the time. It's hard to say. Of course, we humans would love another furry baby, but we are fully aware that Kiki got the short end of the stick since Roo was so sick, and if we brought home another cat now, she would have to share the attention again... BUT she would have a catpanion to spend her time with.
I WISH SHE COULD JUST TELL US IF SHE WANTED A KITTY. Maybe she would like a kitten to terrorize.
Do you have any experience with introducing a young cat to an old cat?
Hi Bonnie! Be very careful about introducing a new kitty to the family. When we adopted little Baby Bee, I never could have imagined how stressed it would make Molly. Mostly tho, this is because they have completely opposite personalities. Molly has always been an old lady who likes to lay about in peace (even at 4 when we got Bee), and Bee is, well, not that. Bee's extreme energy and penchant for sneak attacks leaves Molly pretty frazzled. Things are moderately better now, 5 years later, but it was a long hard slog. Just be sure that the kitty you get will have a complimentary personality to Kiki. It will make life a lot easier for everyone involved - trust me! xoxo
ReplyDeleteWe already had Sophie (older) when we got Ernie (younger, VERY HANDSOME.) The woman at the shelter had a feeling it would work because Sophie was still quite energetic and had been a mother to two litters in her life. Also, Ernie had no social skills to speak of and no apparent fear of other cats. She theorized that Sophie would teach Ernie the basics on how to be a cat - she was right! There was tension for a little while but it was a very quick adjustment. So I agree with Katie that it's a matter of figuring out the personalities. I believe bringing younger kitty in IS the better way to do it, but personality figures in quite a bit. Maybe you should go to our shelter with the "cat whisperer" lady. :)
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